Karnataka HC protects IAF officer from arrest in Bengaluru road rage case
The court also directed IAF Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose to cooperate with the police’s investigation
Amid mounting public outrage and viral footage of an assault involving an officer of the Indian Air force (IAF) and a civilian in a suspected case of road rage, the Karnataka high court has restrained the Bengaluru police from taking any coercive action against the IAF Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose, who faces allegations of attempt to murder in the case.
On April 25, Justice Hemanth Chandangoudar, while hearing a petition filed by Bose seeking quashing of the entire proceedings against him, said that the IAF officer must not be arrested and should only be summoned for questioning “in accordance with law.”
The court also directed Bose to cooperate with the police’s investigation.
“Respondent No.1 (Bengaluru police) shall not take any coercive action and shall not summon the petitioner without following due procedure of law. The petitioner shall co-operate with the investigation,” the high court said.
Such protection granted to Bose by the court comes even as fresh questions are being raised about police impartiality and the preferential treatment allegedly extended to the officer.
The controversy erupted earlier this week after Bose posted on social media, alleging that he had been attacked for not speaking Kannada. However, CCTV footage that surfaced soon after painted a different picture. It showed Bose repeatedly assaulting Vikas Kumar, a 36-year-old BPO employee, near the Baiyappanahalli area in Bengaluru.
The visuals, shared widely across platforms, ignited public fury. Several pro-Kannada groups and Vikas Kumar’s family thronged the Baiyappanahalli police station, demanding swift action against the officer.
Kumar’s family accused the police of dragging their feet on registering a case against the Wing Commander. They claimed that while Kumar was arrested immediately after the incident on April 21, following a complaint registered by Bose’s wife, Madhumita, who is also a squadron leader with the DRDO, the FIR that was subsequently registered based on the Kumar’s complaint, does not mention Bose or his wife.
Advocate Suyog Herele, who represents Bose before the high court along with Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam, however, said that the FIR was registered against unknown persons since Singh had not named Bose in his complaint.
“However, the allegations made in the complaint and the charges in the FIR are specific to Bose’s case,” Herele said.
The backlash has triggered broader debates about the impunity often enjoyed by members of the armed forces in civilian spaces. Last week, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had asked police to take action in accordance with law “irrespective” of the official designation of persons involved.
“In connection with a recent incident in CV Raman Nagar, Bengaluru, Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose assaulted a Kannadiga, Vikas Kumar, following a minor vehicle-related matter. Subsequently, he made unwarranted and derogatory remarks about Karnataka and Kannadigas on social media, displaying conduct that is deeply disrespectful and inflammatory,” Siddaramaiah had said.
In his petition before the high court, Bose has claimed that he is innocent and that he had been “falsely implicated in the case.”
Kumar’s complaint against him was a case of counterblast, registered only in retaliation of the initial complaint against him, Bose has claimed.
He has also questioned police invoking the stringent charge of attempt to murder under Section 109 of the BNS and said that the injuries sustained by Kumar in the incident are “simple in nature.”
Kumar, meanwhile, was released from custody by police on station bail.